Work Place Injury

Accidents at work can vary from profession to profession but the responsibility of providing a safe environment doesn’t. Your employer must provide the right environment, adequate training, and safety equipment and comply with the health and safety regulations at work.

In 2013, almost 646,000 workers had an accident at work – 231,000 injuries led to over three day absence and 175,000 to over seven days.

Getting injured while at work can leave you in a tough situation, making you feel reluctant to pursue a claim against your employer and you may not even know if you have a worthy claim. Not being able to work can leave you missing out on a much needed wage in 2011; £508 million was lost due to workplace injuries. So here are the most common kinds of workplace injury.

Falls and Slips

Falls and slips made up to have of all major reported injuries and almost a third of seven day injuries. However, these accidents can be prevented by some common sense. Employers should carry out risk assessments of their premises and identify any tripping hazards such as trailing wires or damaged flooring.

However, while employers are responsible for make sure that hazards are rectified and that wet floors are identified clearly, as an employee, you could be legally responsible too. If you spill something you should notify others by placing warning signs, before drying is complete.

Injuries can range from broken bones to concussion and any part of the body can be injured. In most cases, falls result in broken or sprained ankles, wrists or arms – on rare occasions, slips and falls may lead to damage to the head, specifically the brain.

Electrical accidents

Electrical injuries can range from a sharp shock to very serious electrical burns. Around 1000 incidents every year of electrical injuries were reported last year; some of them fatal. Electrical shocks can happen at any time, especially if the equipment if faulty. Employers should test their appliances every six months and apply safety test labels to all equipment.

Electrical injuries can happen in many ways:

Shocks from a non-fatal voltage can cause muscle spasms which can be strong enough to fracture or dislocate bones.

Electrical burns can be very painful and can take a long time to heal, leaving you incapable of working.

Overexertion

If you work in a manual labour job you may have to lift heavy materials, injuries caused my overexerting accounted for a third of all workplace injuries. Preventing strain from heavy lifting can be as easy as wearing safety equipment or by having a good lifting technique. A good lifting technique should include:

Knowing your carrying route and making sure there are no obstacles.

Lifting from the right position- Your feet should be slightly apart, with one leg forward to maintain balance.

Hold the load as close to your body as possible to give yourself a tighter grip

Maintain a good posture with a slight bend in your back, and knees.

Don’t carry more than you can manage

If you have followed the HSE guidelines and still suffered an accident, you may be able to claim for a number injuries which range from muscular strain or tears in a number of areas in the body.

How to make a claim

You may be able to claim for compensation if you have been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault. Accidents are the result of being put into or entering a dangerous situation that wasn’t safe, with undesired results, such as injury, stress or financial loss. If you think you have a genuine claim then don’t hesitate to start your claim with True

What happens Next?

The True team will do the following to ensure your claim has been received and they can start work as soon as possible on your claim:

Gather all the information required to make a claim on your behalf.

Introduce you to your personal Injury Case Manager, who will submit your claim to the other party.

Your Personal Injury Case Manager will make the arrangements to formalise your case: